


Winter Soldier Breaks Captain America's Heart!

by flawedamythyst



Series: Values [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Press and Tabloids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 19:45:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17855804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flawedamythyst/pseuds/flawedamythyst
Summary: The media react to the press conference.





	Winter Soldier Breaks Captain America's Heart!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Villainny (Nny)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nny/gifts).



They might have left it too long after the press conference before telling the media that Bucky was actually going out with Clint, not Steve, because the public had already fastened into the idea of seventy years of forbidden love and run with it. 

_Winter Soldier breaks Captain America's heart!_

Steve announcing he was seeing Tony didn't help either.

_Heartbroken Cap turns to known playboy Tony Stark for comfort!_

“Oh, come on,” muttered Tony. “It’s been years since I was a proper playboy.”

“It’s fine,” said Steve with more confidence than Clint thought was warranted. “Give it a few weeks and they’ll have forgotten Bucky and I ever kissed.”

They didn’t forget.

_Barnes flaunts new relationship in front of despondent Cap_

That one came with a picture of Bucky holding Clint’s shoulder, clearly checking him over for injuries after the fight last week, while Steve frowned at them from the foreground, looking more like he was trying to remember if he’d left the gas on than that he was mourning a lost love.

“Oh, Jesus,” muttered Bucky. 

“Maybe we should avoid PDA when we’re out and about,” said Clint, which made Bucky turn his scowl on him instead of the newspaper.

“Oh, hell no,” he said, reaching out to take Clint’s hand. “No way I’m going to pretend I don’t have the best boyfriend of all time, or that I don’t want to be close to him whenever possible.”

Bucky actually increased the PDA after that, so that he was holding Clint’s hand, or had an arm draped around his shoulder, or even just had a hand pressed to the small of Clint’s back pretty much any time they went out in public. Clint was completely okay with that.

Tony, however, saw it as a challenge, and started doing the same with Steve. Which would have worked out better if Steve didn’t look faintly surprised every time, like he still hadn’t quite got used to the idea of having Tony Stark as a boyfriend.

_Body language expert reveals how uncomfortable Cap is around his boyfriend!_

Steve lost his temper and gave Tony a long, passionate kiss at the end of their next battle, right in front of the cameras, but even that backfired.

_Is Steve Rogers trying too hard to make it work with Tony Stark?_

It remained pretty much the only thing reporters were interested in talking about, even to other teams.

“Hawkeye! How do you feel about your mentor destroying Captain America’s chance at happiness?”

“Okay,” said Kate, looking straight at the camera, “I’m going to say this once. Steve is pretty damn happy with Tony, seriously, they’re kinda disgusting together, and Steve was never into Bucky. Like, ever.”

“We all saw that kiss,” said the reporter. “It looked a lot like there were feelings there.”

“There really weren’t,” said Kate. “It was, like a bro-kiss, you know? Like,” she glanced around at America, who was hovering just behind her, “like, hey bro, want to piss off some homophobes by making out?”

America tipped her head to one side, considering the matter. “Yes, I think I do.”

Kate and America’s kiss was even longer and steamier than Steve and Bucky’s had been, which would have gone a long way to making their point if they hadn’t been caught holding hands in an Italian restaurant a week later.

Clint mostly did his best to stay out of the whole thing, because part of him still didn’t really understand why Bucky would pick him over Steve, and an even deeper down part of him occasionally wondered if maybe he was just Bucky’s second choice. He’d known that Steve was in love with Tony, after all, maybe he’d just decided to settle for the other tall, blond guy around.

So, Clint flat out ignored questions from reporters about it, he held tight to Bucky’s hand whenever he took Clint’s but never reached out himself, and he tried not to think about how Bucky rolled out of bed every morning while Clint was still sleeping so that he could go running with Steve.

_Full depth of Cap’s pining revealed on supersoldier run!_

The photo that came with that one was of Steve staring after Bucky as they jogged through Central Park.

“I was thinking about making pancakes when we got back,” said Steve, sadly.

“They were good pancakes,” said Tony comfortingly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him in close.

“This is getting ridiculous,” said Bucky. “Steve, we need to fix this. I thought I was done being the bad guy.”

Steve let out a long sigh. “Yeah, okay,” he said. “We’ll hold a press conference and I’ll clear some things up.”

“I don’t have to go, right?” said Clint.

“Of course you do,” said Bucky. “Who else’s hand am I going to hold to stop me from just punching all those fucking assholes?”

Clint couldn’t argue with that.

“We’ll do it tomorrow,” said Tony, and Bucky went very still.

“Me and Clint have got lunch plans tomorrow.”

“We can always do them another day,” said Clint, because by ‘lunch plans’, Bucky meant that he’d found some new pizza place he wanted them to try.

“Don’t worry,” said Steve, looking at Bucky. “We’ll do the conference in the morning, and you’ll have plenty of time for lunch afterwards.”

Bucky nodded. “Right, okay,” he said. “You better make sure of that, punk.”

“This place must do really great pizza,” said Clint.

Bucky gave him a smile. “I’m hoping you’re going to love it, sweetheart.”

When only Steve, Tony, Bucky and Clint stepped out for the press conference, every single reporter in the room perked up, clearly sensing drama. Clint glanced at where Natasha was watching from backstage, wishing he was with her instead of out in front of the cameras. She just smiled and gave him a little wave.

“Okay,” said Steve, taking the podium as Bucky latched on to Clint’s hand, “so, it seems like you guys really like speculating about my private life, and it’s kinda making my boyfriend sad, so I wanted to clear some things up. I am not, nor have I ever been, in love with Bucky. I have, on the other hand, been in love with Tony for a good few years now.”

“Oh stop, you’re going to make me blush, Cap,” said Tony, but Clint could see his face going pink under his attempts to play it off.

Steve turned to him, pulling something out of his pocket. “It’s true,” he said. “And I know you know it, just like you knew that one day I was going to do this.” He held out the ring box in his hand, opening it up to Tony’s shocked, wide-eyed gaze. “Will you marry me?”

The immediate reaction to that wasn’t from Tony, who looked completely dumbfounded, or even from the reporters, who clearly didn’t know how to spin this one; it was from Bucky.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Rogers?!” he yelled, dropping Clint’s hand so that he could flail his arms at Steve. “Seriously? You do this now? Today?”

Steve didn’t look away from Tony’s face as he replied. “You said you wanted me to fix the media thinking you were the bad guy in this.”

“Not like this!” said Bucky. “You asshole!”

Steve ignored him, still staring at Tony. “Tony, will you?” he asked again. The press had gotten over their shock, and camera flashes were sparking from all over the room.

“Yeah, okay,” said Tony, but he didn’t bother trying to hide his beaming smile. “It’d be awkward for the team if I said no, right?”

Steve’s face lit up, and he swept Tony up into a kiss that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the end of a Hollywood movie.

“Hey?” said Clint quietly to Bucky, who was still glaring at Steve as if he were plotting which abandoned warehouse in New Jersey he was going to dump his body in. “You okay?”

Bucky let out a very long breath, reaching out for Clint’s hand again. “That asshole always has to one-up me,” he muttered, which managed to give Clint a whole new complex, because what if Bucky was only in this relationship so that he could compete with Steve at being the best boyfriend? They competed on about every other level, after all.

He shoved that one back down with all the other bullshit fears that he didn’t usually let worry him during the day, and especially not when Bucky was holding his hand, and did his best to look happy for Steve and Tony as the cameras kept flashing.

Steve finally let Tony go and turned back to the assembled press. “For the record, that’s how I kiss the guy I love at a press conference.”

“Fuck this,” muttered Bucky, and turned to Clint. “I need to talk to you, come on.”

“Right now?” asked Clint, but Bucky was already leading him away off the stage.

Bucky dragged him into the elevator and hit the button for the roof. By the time they'd got up there, it was taking everything Clint had to hide just how freaked out he was, What the hell could Bucky want to talk about? All the things he was coming up with were bad, and most of them ended with them breaking up.

Fuck, he really didn’t want to break up, it felt like things had been going so well. He hadn’t managed to fuck up in any of the myriad of ways that he usually found to destroy his relationships.

They settled on the edge, in their usual spot, and Bucky took a deep breath.

“This whole thing is bullshit,” he announced, and Clint felt himself flinch.

“Oh, not you, doll, never you,” said Bucky quickly. “Everything with you is perfect.”

That didn’t sound like Clint was about to get dumped. He found a smile as relief rolled through him. “Even my bad jokes during sex?”

Bucky snorted. “Especially those,” he said, which was pretty much the opposite of what he usually said, but Clint was willing to take it. “Nah, it’s that I finally get myself to a place where not only am I with the best damn guy I know, and, seriously Clint, some mornings I wake up and it feels like a dream that you're beside me. I can't tell you how many times I've been late to meet Steve cuz I got stuck watching you sleep like some kinda sappy movie.”

“Seriously?” said Clint, startled into speaking. 

“Oh yeah,” said Bucky. “It's kinda why I go run with Steve every day, cuz if I stuck around, I'd end up waking you up, and you hate being up early. By the time I get back and shower, it's late enough that I can wake you with coffee, and you smile at me instead of complaining and trying to burrow under the pillow.” He considered for a moment. “It might be the coffee you smile at, doesn't matter. I still get to see it, and it's the best thing. And it's not just that I'm with you, but I can tell the whole world how lucky I am as well, none of the lying and hiding from when me and Stevie were kids.”

Clint had absolutely no idea how to react to that. He pressed his leg closer to Bucky's and Bucky gave him this beautiful, soft smile that made Clint wonder how the hell he'd ever given his doubts the time of day.

“But then Steven Grant Rogers fucking happened,” said Bucky. “That asshole. And all anyone cares about is this stupid idea that I've broken his heart, and not that I've found someone worth giving mine too. And I have given it to you, Clint, the whole dumb, battered thing, because you're the best thing that's ever happened to me.”

Clint felt like he was filling up with warmth and light, as if hearing these words from Bucky was enough to make him able to fly. He reached out and took Bucky's hand, unable to keep from touching him any longer. 

“And then I stupidly went and told Steve my plans for taking you out to lunch somewhere nice but not fancy, cuz I know fancy freaks you out and it's not like I'm a huge fan either, so that I could make sure you knew how important you are to me, even if the rest of the planet doesn't get it, and so I could see if you'd let me give you this,” Bucky continued, fumbling in his pocket to pull out a ring box without letting go of Clint's hand, and Clint couldn't keep in a sharp noise of surprise. “And that absolute cock goes and steals my fucking thunder. Again.”

“Jesus Christ, Bucky,” said Clint, staring at the ring box. “No way.”

Bucky snorted. “Yes way,” he said, dryly. “Clint, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Clint just stared at him because, what the fuck? Five minutes ago he’d thought he was about to be dumped.

Bucky cleared his throat. “Uh, any time you want to answer is fine.”

Clint blinked. “Dude, of course I will.”

Bucky actually looked relieved, like he’d thought there was a chance Clint was going to say no. Clint was kinda dumb sometimes, but even he wasn’t stupid enough to turn down marrying a guy like Bucky. He leaned in and kissed him, bypassing all the theatrics that Steve and tony had gone for earlier in favour of just keeping it soft and heartfelt.

“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me, too,” he said, once they’d pulled apart. “I love you.”

Bucky’s smile went a long way to finally killing off some of Clint’s doubts. As he slid the ring on Clint’s fingers, he decided it was time to stop second-guessing every moment of happiness.

The next morning, Tony dumped the newspaper on the table in front of Bucky with something of a malicious grin.

_Jealous Bucky storms out as Steve gets engaged!_

“Oh for _fuck’s_ sake!” yelled Bucky, picking it up. “What the fuck is wrong with these assholes?”

Clint started to snigger, then descended into full on laughter when he caught Tony’s eye.

“I hate you all,” announced Bucky.

“No, you don’t,” said Clint, holding his hand up to show his new ring. “I’ve got proof of that.”

Bucky scowled, dropping the paper back down on the table. “Fine, I hate everyone except you. And especially fucking Steve.”

“You know, he really had no idea you’d be so upset about him proposing just before you were going to,” said Tony, heading for the coffee machine.

Bucky stared at him. “Why the hell wouldn’t I have been upset about that asshole making me look like some kinda weird-ass copycat?”

Tony just shrugged. “You know, he can be weirdly oblivious sometimes.”

Bucky let out a very long sigh. “Yeah, I know. Dumber than a box of rocks.” He flicked at the newspaper, sending it flying onto the floor. “Fuck it, I never needed public approval before, what the fuck does it matter what those assholes think of me?”

“That’s the spirit,” said Tony.

“I think you’re okay,” added Clint, leaning in to give him a kiss. “What more do you need?”

Bucky smiled at him, and Clint was starting to let himself see all the emotions in it that meant he really could trust this thing to last. “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” he said, and pulled Clint in to kiss him back.


End file.
